Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi defends Paris Ford after another ejection
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Pat Narduzzi called it “a great tackle.”
But game officials Saturday at Lane Stadium said Pitt safety Paris Ford was guilty of a helmet-to-helmet hit on Virginia Tech wide receiver Tre Turner in the fourth quarter of the 28-0 loss. Per rule, Ford was ejected from the game and will sit out the first half next Saturday against Boston College.
It was Ford’s second such ejection of the season and Pitt’s fourth in the past seven games. Ford also had to sit out the first half of the Syracuse game.
Narduzzi had nothing else to say about the play, but he is getting frustrated with the number of penalties his team is committing.
Pitt entered the game last in the ACC in average penalty yards lost (76.6). It kept the yardage to 67 on 10 penalties, but that was of no consolation to the coach.
“Yeah, I’m frustrated with 10 penalties,” he said. “I had it with all the penalties (94 in 11 games). We focus on it every day.”
Center Jimmy Morrissey suggested it was a matter of “undisciplined play.”
“I don’t know. It was just a bad day for our offense as a whole.”
Ford was unavailable to the media after the game, but senior linebacker Kaylen Johnson said helmet-to-helmet hits are a “coaching point of keeping your head up, try to go below the shoulders, try to keep it a clean hit.”
“That’s the only thing you can say. Football is football. They have all these rules. It makes it tough.”
By the numbers
Pitt (7-4, 4-3) has two games remaining, including a bowl, and still can finish with its most victories under Narduzzi. Pitt was 8-5 in his first two season in 2015 and 2016. … Pitt’s 177 yards of offense are the lowest this season, 86 short of the next-worst (263 against Virginia in the opener).
Ground game lacking
Pitt’s leading rusher in the game, V’Lique Carter, recorded a 26-yard carry in the fourth quarter to bring his total on four rushes to 33. After Pitt had two 1,000-yard rushers last season, this year’s season leader, A.J. Davis, has only 489 after gaining 24 on eight carries Saturday.
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Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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